Collapsible box.



R. H. FLEMING.

COLLAPSIBLB BOX.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.14,1914.

1 1 QQWQQ. Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

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RAY E. FLEMING, or Mex co, mIssouiaI. I

ooLnAIsmLn BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Fatented Jan. 12, 1915.

Application filed March 14', 1914. Serial No. 824,735.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RAY E. FLEMING, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Mexico, in the county'of Audrain and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collapsible Boxes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in boxes, and more particularly tothatclass of boxes which are collapsible.

An object of this invention is the provision of a box of this character which when collapsed will be substantially only onethird of the size of the box when setup, whereby boxes of this character may be stored and shipped in large quantities, in a comparatively small space.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a collapsible box, the various parts of which may be quickly connected when it is desired to set up the same, the sides and-ends of the box being secured between the top and bottom of the box when the same is collapsed.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my invention in set up position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a trans verse section on the line H of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the box in collapsed position. Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of a box in collapsed position. Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 77 of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a detail elevation partly in section showing the construction of one of the connecting bolts and nuts therefor.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates the bottom of the box and 2 the top thereof, the top and bottom bein the same in construction. The bottom 1 and the top 2 are provided on their opposite side edges with laterally ex tending flanges 3, and connected to the outer'faces of the sections 1 and 2 of the box are a plurality of reinforcing straps 4, the opposite ends of which. are off-set laterally to engage the outer faces of the flanges. 3, and the extremities of each strap project beyond the free edges of the flanges 3 and are looped as at 5.

Formed on the inner face of the sections 1 and 2 at the opposite ends thereof are transversely extending spaced strips 6, which are adapted to form seats 7 therebetween, and each of the flanges 3 are provided with transversely alined grooves 8 intermediate of their ends. The opposite sides of the box 9 and 10 are also constructed alike, each side of the box having a plurality of reinforcing straps 11 connected thereto, the upper and lower ends of the straps ll projecting beyond the upper and lower edges of the sides, and being bent to form loops 12 for cooperation with the loops 5 formed on the strips 4 which are secured to the bottom and top of the box. The loops 5 and'l2 are adapted to register, for the reception of bolts 13 which are adapted to project through the loops, and a nut 14: is adapted to be threaded upon the free end of each bolt, to secure the tops and sides in set up position.

The inner face of each of the sides is provided with a vertical groove 15 intermediate of its ends, the grooves 15 forming guides for the opposite side edges of a partition plate 16, the grooves 15 communicating at their upper and lower ends with the grooves 8 in the flanges of the top and bottom of the box, so that when the box is set up, the side edges of the partition at its upper and lower ends engage in the grooves 8.

The partition 16 is provided on its opposite edges adjacent its upper end with downwardly curved hooks 17, the hooks being adapted to engage over the upper edges of the sides 9 and 10 of the box, to prevent the same from swinging outwardly when the top 2 of the box is removed.

The inner face of each of the sides is also provided with a pair of vertically extending strips 18 at its opposite ends, the outer strip of each pair projecting above and below the opposite edges of the sides as at 19, to engage'the inner face of the flanges 3 'of the top and bottom sections. The strips 18 form guides or seats 20 thereb'etween, which communicate at their ends with the seats 7 formed in the top and bottom sections 1 and 2, of the box, and the seats 7 receiving the upper and lower edges of said ends. The end 21 is formed solid, and the end 22 com prises a pair of verticalside bars 23 between which a removable door at is removably secured. The door is preferably composed of two sections hingedly connected together, each section of the door being provided with outwardly extending flanges 25 on its opposite edges to engage the inwardly extending flanges 26 of the bars 23 to prevent inward movement of the door.

A locking plate 27 is pivotally connected at one end to one of the bars 23, the opposite end of the plate being apertured for engagement with an outwardly projecting screw 28, the body portion of the locking plate being adapted to extend across the door, and a nut- 29 is engaged with the screw 28 to securely hold the locking plate against the door to prevent outward movement of the same. One of the sections of the door is provided with a handle 30, and when it is desired to remove the door from the box, without removing the top of the box, the nut 29 is unthreaded from the screw 28, so that the spring locking plate 27 may be swung on its pivot to remove the same from engagement with the door, so that the handle 30 may be grasped, and upon outward movement of the handle, it will be seen that the sections of the door 24- swing upon the hinges to allow the removal of the same from the box.

When it is desired to collapse the box, all of the bolts are removed from their respective loops, so that the sections of the box may be disconnected. whereupon the end 22 haying the removable door 24: is placed within the bottom of thebox. The sides 9 and 10 of the box are then placed together so that the loops 12 thereon register so that bolts may be passed through the loops to secure the,side sections together, whereupon the sides are placed in the bottom of the box so that the strips 18 engage the strips 6 on the upper .face of the bottom. The other end 21 and the partition 16 are then placed within the top section between the inner of the strips 18, and the top of the box 15 then disposed upon the bottom thereof so that the loops 5 of the top and bottom register, so that the bolts 13 may be passed through the loops to securely hold the sections of the box together in their knocked down pos1- tion.

If desired, the heads of the bolts 13 may be slotted as at 31, so that a screw driver may be used to quickly remove the bolts from or secure them to the nuts, and the bolts may be also provided with longitudinal bores 32, so that wires 33 can be passed through the bores after the nuts have been mounted upon the bolts, whereupon the wires may be twisted to prevent accidental disengagement of the nuts from the bolts.

It will be understood that my improved box may be readily used as an egg crate, by providing the usual egg nests therefor, and that it can also be used as a chicken crate, by forming the bottom, top and sides of the box of frame work to which wire netting may be secured to allowthe air to enter the crate. It will be further understood, that while I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention, that I do not limit myself to the construction illustrated, but that minor changes in construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages as determined by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A collapsible box comprising like top and bottom sections, said sections having laterally extending flanges on their opposite side edges, loops projecting beyond the outer edges of said flanges, like side sections disposed between the flanges of the top and bottom sections, loops projecting beyond the upper and lower edges of the side sections and adapted to register with the loops carried by the flanges, end sections mounted in the opposite ends of the aforementioned sections, and detachable means disposed through said registering loops, whereby the various sections of the box are held in set up position or in collapsed position, and the top of the box is hingedly connected to one side thereof and the remaining side of the box is hingedly connected to the bottom, when the detachable means are removed from the registering loops on one side of the box at its upper end.

2. A collapsible box comprising like top and bottom sections, said sections having laterally extending flanges on their opposite side edges, straps connected to the outer faces of said sections and having'their opposite ends directed laterally and engaged against the outer faces of said flanges, the extremities of each strap projecting beyond the free edges of the flanges and being looped, like side sections disposed between the flanges of the top and bottom sections, straps connected to the outer faces of the side sections and projecting at their upper and lower ends beyond the upper and lower edges of the side sections, the last mentioned straps also having loops formed on their extremities for registration with the loops formed on the first mentioned straps, end sections mounted in the opposite ends of the aforementioned sections, and means for en In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

RAY E. FLEMING.

Witnesses:

J. T. WILLIAMS, W. A. SHARP. 

